‘Kevin Can F**k Himself’ Recap: ‘The Unreliable Narrator’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Caution: This article contains spoilers for Episode 205 of ‘Kevin Can F**k Himself’. To revisit the previous episode, click here.
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There comes a point in our lives, whether we like it or not… where a reckoning comes our way. It could be positive in nature, since we might be at a point in our lives where we need a little nudge from the universe to move us in a better direction. Or it could be a negative reckoning of sorts. One where we pay the piper for our sins or our actions. But one way or another, that reckoning is coming and it is such an important aspect of our world that it pops up often in storytelling… but in far more unrealistic manner than we give it credit. For in film, television, and literature, the reckoning is a force of nature. The kind that is grand and sweeping and moving and creates instantaneous change to the lives of the characters.
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When in reality… the reckoning is actually subtle, and progressive in nature. Wherein we make baby steps toward a better life since it doesn’t just come to us overnight and where the unjust… face a gradual buildup to their big moment. Where people begin to push back and express their frustrations about what the bad person in question has done before making them truly pay. If anything, this particular process is top of mind today, simply because the reckoning was put on full display in the next episode of Kevin Can F**k Himself on AMC. In fact, ‘The Unreliable Narrator’ explored both the positive and the negative reckoning in this story, a feat that it accomplished… courtesy of a shared experience for the folks of Worcester.

Simply because the power went out in this city, in a big way and well… when faced with the darkness, everyone arrived at Bev’s Diner to stay safe and having Kevin occupied with his friends and Sam… gave Patty and Allison a chance to handle some business. For before the power went out, two important moments happened for Allison. One, she got a text from the contact at City Hall, letting her know they were ready to help with the cause and get her Gertrude’s death certificate, and second… the article that was supposed to be about the Worcester Wild Dude hit the paper and it was instead about Allison, and her lost potential and the path she never took and that hit her hard, mentally.

For it gave her a moment to truly reflect on every choice she has ever made, and how a great deal of them have brought her sorrow and strife and that she has accepted ugly as her new normal and settled with what that brings. Which made this episode, her reckoning, her moment of truth and well… what she did with the lessons that came out of reflection was quite wonderful and powerful in nature. Because she realized this was her chance to really change course and live better and live happily. And if she was brave on this night, and fearless and didn’t listen to the doubt and the voices that told her otherwise for so many years… she could finally make that first step toward a better tomorrow.

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Which is why she was hell-bent on pushing toward the solution regardless of the odds. Simply because she and Patty came to learn that they would need to break into City Hall to get the certificate, because their contact was a former employee with a beef against the city. Which ran with risk if they were in there for too long, but that didn’t matter. She had to do this, and after an unnerving entry into the building and an exhaustive search, Allison found Gertrude’s death certificate and took it with her into the night. Proving without a doubt that reckonings do indeed have a positive impact upon us when we listen to the lesson and look objectively at our lives and now Allison can conduct the next steps in growing into a better future.
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But while that was wonderful to witness and uplifting as well, there was mention that this episode explored both the positive and negative types of reckonings, and the uglier one was handled by Kevin McRoberts himself. Because while Allison was taking steps toward controlling her future, Kevin was being Kevin. For the generator he brought to the diner went missing and he of course, firmly believed that someone inside the diner had stolen it. Which led to an interrogation sequence, where every last one of his friends and family and Sam for that matter as well… who was with him when it went missing, were given the Nth degree regarding this ‘theft’, and when Kevin didn’t get the answers he wanted, he unleashed his special brand of ugly.

For he went after Neil hard post interrogation and Neil… clapped back. For he was tired of being pushed around and blamed like this and his pushback, motivated others to do so as well and under that pressure… Kevin revealed he was responsible for the power outage and that only enraged the group further. And had it not been for the return of the genny, which Diane just pushed under a table, and the return of the power… who knows how far this would have gone. But make no mistake about it, that kind of breaking of the ranks around Kevin… is a reckoning. One that relates to paying the piper for years of abuse and rudeness and pure toxicity and it will be fascinating to see if that continues in the next few weeks as we edge toward the series finale. 

But in the here and the now, what matters more, is that much needed reckonings came forth for the two lead characters. Because Kevin has needed to be held accountable at any level for years on end now, and of course… Allison needed a kick in the pants and that objective look at her life and that made, for one poignant and powerful episode. One that truly hammered home why we should embrace this moment when it arrives because it can do so much for us and well… now that Allison and Kevin McRoberts are on bold new paths, all we can hope for, is that the wonder and the accountability grows from here and that is going to make the wait for next week’s episode, downright unbearable. For we are in the home stretch now and simply need to know where this bold new chapter in the story is going to take us. Until next time.

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